The issue will come before a judge July 12 in Missaukee Circuit Court, when the court will consider Michigan Attorney General's request that a Marion farmer who has been breeding hybrid hogs be fined $10,000 for each of 70 prohibited swine the Michigan Department of Natural Resources believes he owns.

Mark Baker of Bakers Green Acres sued the DNR for the right to continue a breeding program that raised hybrid pigs from Russian Boars and a heritage breed, Mangalitsa, that originated in eastern Europe.

The DNR is seeking summary disposition in the case as well as the fine.

In April, 2012, the DNR began enforcing an order that bans the ownership and breeding of certain strains of pigs as invasive species because of the threat they pose should they escape and become wild, or feral.

Russian boars, easily able to survive Michigan winters, had been popular prey on game ranches in recent years, but escapees from the ranches have established breeding populations, the DNR has said.

Feral pigs pose a threat to the environment with their voracious appetites and rooting behavior and to agriculture with their destruction of crops and ability to spread disease to commercial livestock.

The DNR would not comment on pending litigation but court documents suggest that Baker had challenged the invasive species order and continued to use Russian breeding stock on his farm.

Attempts to reach Baker by telephone were not immediately successful, but his website portrays his case as one of a small traditional family farmer being bullied by corporate agriculture. An online fundraising site with that message has raised $23,724.00 with a goal of $26,276.00 more.

The DNR has said that the invasive species order, aimed at reducing Michigan's
feral swine population, does not include domestic swine breeds such as those that
have found a niche market among chefs and foodies.

Mangalitsa pigs do not fall under the order, according to a March, 2012 letter from DNR director Rodney Stokes that states
in part, "It is the DNR's understanding that purebred Mangalitsa swine
do not exhibit characteristics listed in the Declaratory Ruling, other
than potentially striped piglets. The Invasive Species Order would not
prohibit purebred Mangalitsa swine based solely on this characteristic."

However,
in the event that breeders have crossed Mangalitsas with Eurasian wild
boar or any of the swine outlawed under the ban, those hybrid animals
would still be prohibited.

According to Baker's website, he no longer has Russian boars. It is unclear whether he still has hybrids that would be considered in violation of the order.